identified by Donna
Blasko as belonging to her daughter, Katie.
Shed sent the original Tamagotchi
to the new lab, ForenZics. This one belonged to Scobie Suttons daughter,
Roslyn. Hed gone home for the day, but shed called him in again. You dont
get time off when a kids missing.
Just then, John Tankard hurried in. Nice
of you to make it, Constable.
Tank went red and sulky. Sorry,
Sarge.
Her face tight, Ellen said, To
continue, Donna Blasko found her daughters Tamagotchi lying on the footpath
near her home and
Kees van Alphen raised a lazy hand. What
the hells a Tamagotchi?
Scobie said indulgently, Its a
little electronic toy. You give it a name and a personality. My Ros spends all
of her free time
Ellen had to cut him short before he
bored the pants off everybody. I was there for an hour before Katies mother
mentioned the damn thing.
Nothing else? asked van Alphen,
bored, picking nuggets of Styrofoam out of the rim of a disposable cup. No
signs of a struggle? No witnesses?
No.
No sign of the bike, helmet or
school bag?
Correct.
So what are you saying?
They all looked bored, this was just
a missing kid, but, in her bones, Ellen was afraid for Katie Blasko. She wanted
to act swiftly. There were three whiteboards behind her: photographs of the girl,
and headings and notes in her neat hand. Here are the obvious alternatives,
she said, using a pointer. One, Katie Blasko ran away.
Exactly, said van Alphen heavily.
Ellen ignored him. She has a
history of it, always returning home of her own accord or being discovered at a
friends house. But shes never stayed away as long as this before, and none of
her friends have seen her. Second scenario: shes had an accident, possibly on
her bike, possibly while running away or exploring waste ground somewhere. If
thats the case, shell be found eventually, but if she requires urgent medical
care we need to send out search parties at first light tomorrow morning.
Uniforms have already begun searching the mangrove flats, the tip and the
quarry. Here Ellen nodded an acknowledgement to Kellock. Third alternative,
her classmates, or older children, have done something with her. Locked her in
a shed, perhaps. An abandoned house. Again, we need to search thoroughly. Four,
this is revenge for something. Does the family have any enemies? Five, the
mothers de facto, Justin Pedder. He had access to Katie. Shed go with him
willingly. He has an alibi, however, and I didnt really get a feeling that
there was anything amiss in the home situation. But what if his mates are
involved? Six, shes been abducted by a stranger or strangers. She might be
found alive, or dead, or never found. For years now there have been rumours of
a paedophile ring on the Peninsula.
Rumours, thats all they are, said
van Alphen.
Ellen ignored him. Trace,
interview, eliminate, she said. Thats what police work boils down to in
cases like this. Friends, family, neighbours, teachers, everybody. But we dont
have a lot of time. According to statistics, most kidnapped or abducted children
are killed in the first twenty-four hours. If a paedophile ring is involved,
theyll abuse her for a few days and then kill her. We cant sit around
worrying about our shift entitlements, childcare arrangements or overtime. This
is too important for that. She could be in a car or house on the other side of
the country by now This is the worst kind of case: no body, no obvious crime
scene, and no clear place to start.
She hoped she wasnt communicating
her performance anxieties and doubts to the room. Of course she wasnt Challis,
but how would Challis handle this case? Would he move swiftly, too, and hang
the criticisms? She visualised the way he liked to stand at briefings, either
propping up a wall, pacing at the head of the long table or tapping wall maps
or displays of surveillance and arrest photographs. There were always coffee
cups and plates of scones and apricot Danish on the table, but her table was
bare, apart from
Blasko as belonging to her daughter, Katie.
Shed sent the original Tamagotchi
to the new lab, ForenZics. This one belonged to Scobie Suttons daughter,
Roslyn. Hed gone home for the day, but shed called him in again. You dont
get time off when a kids missing.
Just then, John Tankard hurried in. Nice
of you to make it, Constable.
Tank went red and sulky. Sorry,
Sarge.
Her face tight, Ellen said, To
continue, Donna Blasko found her daughters Tamagotchi lying on the footpath
near her home and
Kees van Alphen raised a lazy hand. What
the hells a Tamagotchi?
Scobie said indulgently, Its a
little electronic toy. You give it a name and a personality. My Ros spends all
of her free time
Ellen had to cut him short before he
bored the pants off everybody. I was there for an hour before Katies mother
mentioned the damn thing.
Nothing else? asked van Alphen,
bored, picking nuggets of Styrofoam out of the rim of a disposable cup. No
signs of a struggle? No witnesses?
No.
No sign of the bike, helmet or
school bag?
Correct.
So what are you saying?
They all looked bored, this was just
a missing kid, but, in her bones, Ellen was afraid for Katie Blasko. She wanted
to act swiftly. There were three whiteboards behind her: photographs of the girl,
and headings and notes in her neat hand. Here are the obvious alternatives,
she said, using a pointer. One, Katie Blasko ran away.
Exactly, said van Alphen heavily.
Ellen ignored him. She has a
history of it, always returning home of her own accord or being discovered at a
friends house. But shes never stayed away as long as this before, and none of
her friends have seen her. Second scenario: shes had an accident, possibly on
her bike, possibly while running away or exploring waste ground somewhere. If
thats the case, shell be found eventually, but if she requires urgent medical
care we need to send out search parties at first light tomorrow morning.
Uniforms have already begun searching the mangrove flats, the tip and the
quarry. Here Ellen nodded an acknowledgement to Kellock. Third alternative,
her classmates, or older children, have done something with her. Locked her in
a shed, perhaps. An abandoned house. Again, we need to search thoroughly. Four,
this is revenge for something. Does the family have any enemies? Five, the
mothers de facto, Justin Pedder. He had access to Katie. Shed go with him
willingly. He has an alibi, however, and I didnt really get a feeling that
there was anything amiss in the home situation. But what if his mates are
involved? Six, shes been abducted by a stranger or strangers. She might be
found alive, or dead, or never found. For years now there have been rumours of
a paedophile ring on the Peninsula.
Rumours, thats all they are, said
van Alphen.
Ellen ignored him. Trace,
interview, eliminate, she said. Thats what police work boils down to in
cases like this. Friends, family, neighbours, teachers, everybody. But we dont
have a lot of time. According to statistics, most kidnapped or abducted children
are killed in the first twenty-four hours. If a paedophile ring is involved,
theyll abuse her for a few days and then kill her. We cant sit around
worrying about our shift entitlements, childcare arrangements or overtime. This
is too important for that. She could be in a car or house on the other side of
the country by now This is the worst kind of case: no body, no obvious crime
scene, and no clear place to start.
She hoped she wasnt communicating
her performance anxieties and doubts to the room. Of course she wasnt Challis,
but how would Challis handle this case? Would he move swiftly, too, and hang
the criticisms? She visualised the way he liked to stand at briefings, either
propping up a wall, pacing at the head of the long table or tapping wall maps
or displays of surveillance and arrest photographs. There were always coffee
cups and plates of scones and apricot Danish on the table, but her table was
bare, apart from
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